Daylight is the primary cue used by circadian clocks to entrain to the day/night cycle so as to synchronize physiological processes with periodic environmental changes induced by Earth rotation. However, the temporal daylight pattern is not the same every day due to erratic weather fluctuations or regular seasonal changes. Then, how do circadian clocks operate properly in varying weather and seasons? In this paper, we discuss the strategy unveiled by recent studies of the circadian clock of Ostreococcus tauri, the smallest free-living eukaryotic organism. It combines mechanisms controlling light inputs and clock sensitivity, shaping both the dynamics of the core circadian oscillator and its forcing by light so as to ensure stable and precise synchronization in all weather and seasons.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bies.201200012 | DOI Listing |
Acta Physiol (Oxf)
February 2025
Laboratory of Biological Rhythms, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
Aim: Exposure to light at night and meal time misaligned with the light/dark (LD) cycle-typical features of daily life in modern 24/7 society-are associated with negative effects on health. To understand the mechanism, we developed a novel protocol of complex chronodisruption (CD) in which we exposed female rats to four weekly cycles consisting of 5-day intervals of constant light and 2-day intervals of food access restricted to the light phase of the 12:12 LD cycle.
Methods: We examined the effects of CD on behavior, estrous cycle, sleep patterns, glucose homeostasis and profiles of clock- and metabolism-related gene expression (using RT qPCR) and liver metabolome and lipidome (using untargeted metabolomic and lipidomic profiling).
Nutrients
December 2024
Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Background And Objectives: Depression often results in premature aging, which increases the risk of other chronic diseases, but very few studies have analyzed the association between epigenetic biomarkers of aging and depressive symptoms. Similarly, limited research has examined the joint effects of adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and chronotype on depressive symptoms, accounting for sex differences. Therefore, these are the objectives of our investigation in a Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
December 2024
Department of Neurobiology & Behavior, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan.
Background/objectives: Circadian clocks are endogenous systems that regulate numerous biological, physiological, and behavioral events in living organisms. Aging attenuates the precision and robustness of circadian clocks, leading to prolonged and dampened circadian gene oscillation rhythms and amplitudes. This study investigated the effects of food-derived polyphenols such as ellagic acid and its metabolites (urolithin A, B, and C) on the aging clock at the cellular level using senescent human fibroblast cells, TIG-3 cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
January 2025
Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Via Settimio Severo 83, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy.
A circadian clock (CC) has evolved in plants that synchronizes their growth and development with daily and seasonal cycles. A properly functioning circadian clock contributes to increasing plant growth, reproduction, and competitiveness. In plants, continuous light treatment has been a successful approach for obtaining novel knowledge about the circadian clock.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
December 2024
Laboratory of Chronobiology, Institute of Biosciences and Applications (IBA), National Centre for Scientific Research (NCSR) "Demokritos", 153 41 Aghia Paraskevi, Greece.
: Pancreatic Ductal Adeno-Carcinoma (PDAC) is a highly aggressive cancer, with limited treatment options. Disruption of the circadian clock, which regulates key cellular processes, has been implicated in PDAC initiation and progression. Hence, targeting circadian clock components may offer new therapeutic opportunities for the disease.
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